*~*~*~*Official AMCAS "Work/Activities" Tips Thread 2014-2015*~*~*~*

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So the AAMC advises either to type directly into AMCAS or to copy/paste from notepad (or a similar program) to preserve formatting. However, I pasted from Word because I did not think that it would be an issue. So, when I view the PDF of my work/activities section generated by AMCAS, the formatting looks great. However, when I view the HTML version, the formatting is messed up. Which version will adcoms see, the PDF or the HTML versions? What is a sure-fire way for my formatting to not get messed up upon submission?
Theoretically, they will see a PDF version. But the warning must be there for a reason, so heed it. Solutions: 1) Copy and paste from Word into Notepad. Proofread it, then copy/paste into the application. Or, 2) type directly into the narrative space.
 
Theoretically, they will see a PDF version. But the warning must be there for a reason, so heed it. Solutions: 1) Copy and paste from Word into Notepad. Proofread it, then copy/paste into the application. Or, 2) type directly into the narrative space.

I pasted everything from word into notepad and then from notepad into AMCAS. The HTML version still seems wacky, but the PDF version is still fine. I also tried typing an entry and doing the formatting directly into the narrative space. The HTML is still wacky. I'm guessing the HTML version just doesn't pick up on the formatting.
 
I pasted everything from word into notepad and then from notepad into AMCAS. The HTML version still seems wacky, but the PDF version is still fine. I also tried typing an entry and doing the formatting directly into the narrative space. The HTML is still wacky. I'm guessing the HTML version just doesn't pick up on the formatting.
Your hypothesis-based research report on the formatting issue will reassure others who read this after testing it as you did. Thanks for letting us know the outcome.
 
So I know that everything on work/activities is fair game on the interviews so with that said: is it a good or bad idea to include that I put together an independent research team and was the primary investigator but due to lack of faculty support and funding the project fell apart in a year especially after I went abroad? I think it shows initiative but also a lack of following through and commitment and am wondering if the red flag is brighter than the green one (I'm red/green color blind so I can't tell the difference 😛 ).

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on this 🙂
 
So I know that everything on work/activities is fair game on the interviews so with that said: is it a good or bad idea to include that I put together an independent research team and was the primary investigator but due to lack of faculty support and funding the project fell apart in a year especially after I went abroad? I think it shows initiative but also a lack of following through and commitment and am wondering if the red flag is brighter than the green one (I'm red/green color blind so I can't tell the difference 😛 ).

Just wondering if anyone has an opinion on this 🙂
It happens that some schools choose an interviewer with expertise in an applicant's area of research. Interviewees are occasionally grilled in great detail about their research methods and understanding of the process, etc and might possibly delve into why the project fell apart if you claim overall responsibility ("What other funding sources did you seek out?", "Why did you lose faculty support?", and "Tell is about how you delegated responsibility in your absence and what happened with that?").

If you feel that the circumstances wouldn't reflect well on you, you could list the research experience without mentioning the leadership components.
 
I apologize if this question seems redundant, but I'm looking for advice about the how much descriptive content I should put in the work/activities section. I'm a non-trad applicant with 10 years experience as a naval aviator. (32 years old) I can't help but want to talk about and express things I've done, learned, accomplished, etc, that I think would help make me a good applicant/doctor. I don't believe I'm writing in a way that makes me sound pompous--just trying to express what I've done. But I'm concerned I'm writing too much! I have 12 entries and 3 most meaningful.
Two intercollegiate sports (500 and 700 character descriptions) (Soccer as undergrad and Cross County as a 32 yr old community college student)
Two extracurricular activities (400 and 500 descriptions) (10 years piano guild study and marathon runner)
Two clinical/shadowing experiences (700 characters each)
Two are awards (one most meaningful-used all available characters)
Four work experience-- using all the characters I'm given! Deployments, landing on aircraft carriers, etc.

What are your thoughts on antidotes? Is it not worth sharing that I dealt with hydraulic loss, bleed air leaks, taught junior pilots to land aboard the ship, lived in Bahrain, etc? Should I just stick to job descriptions and not what I got out of them?

And I still haven't figured out my PS. Ug! 🙂
Striving for succinctness is a positive, but you have so much more "life story" to relay than a traditional applicant, that I expect adcomms will want to read what you have to say. Unless you are blathering on. You might get an unbiased opinion from an adviser or English teacher.

Some thoughts:
I support breaking down your military experience into multiple categories. Consider Leadership and Teaching categories for two of them, and don't just use Employment-Military for them all.

Look at each entry to see if it reveals a characteristic that translates well into a desirable trait for a doctor. You want to sell yourself, and that doesn't necessarily mean including everything. If an activity had a significant impact, then share it. Not all of them do, so don't force it.

Consider grouping activities that happened a decade ago, as they will have less impact on adcomm opinion.

Anecdotes make reading entries more interesting, as they leaven dry renditions of duties and accomplishments. But be succinct.

Start to work on the PS, which is supposed to detail the journey of deciding on medicine as a career and how you tested it. You don't want to duplicate information/anecdotes. It might change your choices and wording of listed Activities.

Piano might better fit under Artistic Endeavors, assuming you performed for groups at some time. Try to use as many of the offered categories as possible.

Read Post #2 & 3 of this thread.
 
If I volunteered in a lab during last school year, but will continue next year on a project with increased commitment/hours, is it okay if I just put the dates as last fall-spring of next year, rather than breaking it into the fall-spring this year and fall-spring next year? Since I can't do a start date next fall, I would like to put the projected continued hours and describe what I'll be doing next year.
 
I searched the thread and couldn't find this.

Two part question.

1. Is it worth listing Dean's List on my Work/Activities? I got this for three quarters in undergrad, which was about 9 years ago. I don't recall any other honors.
2. If I do list it, there is no contact. It shows on my official transcript. Can I just put University Registrar for contact First and Last Name?
 
If I volunteered in a lab during last school year, but will continue next year on a project with increased commitment/hours, is it okay if I just put the dates as last fall-spring of next year, rather than breaking it into the fall-spring this year and fall-spring next year? Since I can't do a start date next fall, I would like to put the projected continued hours and describe what I'll be doing next year.
Yes, but you might want to title the activity something like Academic Year Research Assistant in the Gomez lab, and/or specify the two spans in the narrative with the hours per week for each span.
 
I searched the thread and couldn't find this.

Two part question.

1. Is it worth listing Dean's List on my Work/Activities? I got this for three quarters in undergrad, which was about 9 years ago. I don't recall any other honors.
2. If I do list it, there is no contact. It shows on my official transcript. Can I just put University Registrar for contact First and Last Name?
1) It's in Post #2, item 6. Personally, I wouldn't bother unless you have other honors or scholarships to report. Your GPA says enough.

2) Yes.
 
Do you think I should touch on the fact I took my pre-reqs at a community college vs four year institution? (I took two classes at a university before realizing community college was WAY cheaper and had a better schedule. Plus, I was able to run on the cross country team.) I could mention it under the cross country "intercollegiate athletics" entry.
 
Do you think I should touch on the fact I took my pre-reqs at a community college vs four year institution? (I took two classes at a university before realizing community college was WAY cheaper and had a better schedule. Plus, I was able to run on the cross country team.) I could mention it under the cross country "intercollegiate athletics" entry.

Hmm, my first reaction is no, but nowadays considering CC for financial reasons can be useful. But I would only do that if it were a larger piece of a pattern for narrative (ie had to work to afford school, had a 20 hour week job, did well, did all this other stuff.) I dont see it being an obvious fact to put out there for no particular reason.

Im gonna let some other ideas stew in my head on this, cause ur not the only student with this issue
 
I have volunteered at a nursing home and worked as a technician at a physical therapy clinic. Both involved constant interaction with patients, however I was not working with MDs. Can I still list these experiences "medical/clinical" or would "not clinical" be more appropriate?
 
I have volunteered at a nursing home and worked as a technician at a physical therapy clinic. Both involved constant interaction with patients, however I was not working with MDs. Can I still list these experiences "medical/clinical" or would "not clinical" be more appropriate?
These are both most certainly active clinical experiences. To get the physician exposure you need, look for shadowing opportunities. You might ask at your clinical sites where you've met other staff if they can refer you for a shadowing opportunity to any docs affiliated with or referring to the facility.
 
I pasted everything from word into notepad and then from notepad into AMCAS. The HTML version still seems wacky, but the PDF version is still fine. I also tried typing an entry and doing the formatting directly into the narrative space. The HTML is still wacky. I'm guessing the HTML version just doesn't pick up on the formatting.

There is no formatting in native HTML . It will also render special characters differently such as quotes, apostrophes, spaces, paragraph marks, etc.

If you use word, "save as" use PLAIN TEXT (as type) . Notepad actually is not completely as some characters such as paragraphs marks are placed.

I am sure someone will ask how can I do both the same and the answer is you cant.
 
These are both most certainly active clinical experiences. To get the physician exposure you need, look for shadowing opportunities. You might ask at your clinical sites where you've met other staff if they can refer you for a shadowing opportunity to any docs affiliated with or referring to the facility.
Good advice, thanks!
 
For sake of anonymity, I'm going to use "swimming" as the sport in my question - but the real sport that this is about isn't swimming.

I co-founded the competitive swimming club team at my school - there are no varsity level teams for this sport of swimming at my university, or at any university for that matter. It is not "intercollegiate" - by that, I mean that when we competed, we swam at open competitions. Some college clubs would be there competing, but there were also individuals not affiliated with any school competing there as well. We practiced 4x a week for about 10 hrs total every week year-round. Despite being a co-founder of the team, I was only a member of the team for my freshman and junior year. I had chronic injuries after my freshman and junior years of swimming that had me "resting" during my sophomore and senior years. Since these were chronic injuries, I could and did still swim about 6hrs a week during my sophomore and senior year. I just had to swim at a much lower intensity (and for shorter durations), which is why I wasn't swimming with the club team these two years. To make it even more complicated, I'll add that the act of swimming itself is a huge part of my PS as I've trained regularly 6-12 hrs a week for the past 7 years minus a few months here and there due to acute injuries.

1. This EC should be listed as "extracurricular activities" and not intercollegiate athletics since we were just a club and not a club-level athletic team, correct?

2. What do you think is the best way to break up these seven years?


( The 2 years on the team with regular practice schedules and being a co-founder I believe justifies this EC as having its own category. It definitely took up a solid chunk of free time during my undergrad, especially due to Saturday morning practices. )


Currently I have it broken up like this:

EC - University Swim Team Co-Founder
Repeat Experience - Freshman 500 hours , Junior 500 hours
- Co-founded team
- Followed a weekly practice schedule during school year, continued training during summer
- Occasionally coached new members at additional practice times if they had to miss one of the four scheduled practices.

Suffered from overuse injuries during sophomore and senior year - see hobbies for details.

EC - Hobbies


-Swimming at a lighter intensity due to chronic injury during sophomore and senior year. Began swimming at a similar intensity two years before freshman year, and continued swimming after graduation.
-Hobby 2
-Hobby 3
-Hobby 4

(Replace Freshman/Sophomore/JR/SR with the actual numerical year)
 
I co-founded the competitive swimming club team at my school - there are no varsity level teams for this sport of swimming at my university, or at any university for that matter. It is not "intercollegiate" - by that, I mean that when we competed, we swam at open competitions. Some college clubs would be there competing, but there were also individuals not affiliated with any school competing there as well. We practiced 4x a week for about 10 hrs total every week year-round. Despite being a co-founder of the team, I was only a member of the team for my freshman and junior year. I had chronic injuries after my freshman and junior years of swimming that had me "resting" during my sophomore and senior years. Since these were chronic injuries, I could and did still swim about 6hrs a week during my sophomore and senior year. I just had to swim at a much lower intensity (and for shorter durations), which is why I wasn't swimming with the club team these two years. To make it even more complicated, I'll add that the act of swimming itself is a huge part of my PS as I've trained regularly 6-12 hrs a week for the past 7 years minus a few months here and there due to acute injuries.

1. This EC should be listed as "extracurricular activities" and not intercollegiate athletics since we were just a club and not a club-level athletic team, correct?
2. What do you think is the best way to break up these seven years?

( The 2 years on the team with regular practice schedules and being a co-founder I believe justifies this EC as having its own category. It definitely took up a solid chunk of free time during my undergrad, especially due to Saturday morning practices. )


Currently I have it broken up like this:

EC - University Swim Team Co-Founder
Repeat Experience - Freshman 500 hours , Junior 500 hours
- Co-founded team
- Followed a weekly practice schedule during school year, continued training during summer
- Occasionally coached new members at additional practice times if they had to miss one of the four scheduled practices.

Suffered from overuse injuries during sophomore and senior year - see hobbies for details.

EC - Hobbies
-Swimming at a lighter intensity due to chronic injury during sophomore and senior year. Began swimming at a similar intensity two years before freshman year, and continued swimming after graduation.
-Hobby 2
-Hobby 3
-Hobby 4

(Replace Freshman/Sophomore/JR/SR with the actual numerical year)
1) Yes.

2) That's one way to do it. You could also make the sport involvement a "Most Meaningful" activity and get enough space to discuss everything together. And/or, you could list the Leadership component separately (and BTW, I'm surprised you didn't list any leadership-y stuff among your duties). Or, you could list each college or calender year as a Repeat activity titled, perhaps, Water Sport Involvement (which covers not being on the team for 2 of the 4 years) and put the varying Total Hours with each time span. Your choice, as there's no one right way to do it.
 
1) Yes.

2) That's one way to do it. You could also make the sport involvement a "Most Meaningful" activity and get enough space to discuss everything together. And/or, you could list the Leadership component separately (and BTW, I'm surprised you didn't list any leadership-y stuff among your duties). Or, you could list each college or calender year as a Repeat activity titled, perhaps, Water Sport Involvement (which covers not being on the team for 2 of the 4 years) and put the varying Total Hours with each time span. Your choice, as there's no one right way to do it.

1. I guess I forgot to list member recruitment - but besides that and the occasional "newbie" coaching there was no real responsibility or leadership being a co-founder. Regarding the most meaningful comment, I'm going to PM you if that is ok. I want to know your opinion but you won't be able to give an accurate one without knowing real details which I'm not going to publicly post.

EDIT: Can't PM you - this makes sense. I'll use my best judgement here, thanks.

2. Going back to listing a leadership component separately - I was not aware that we could do this. Now I have another question. I participated in an annual charity event three times (so 3 years now, next year will be my fourth) in which I was a team captain with real leadership responsibilities. I had to recruit members, attend leader meetings, organize fundraisers, keep my team up to date, and just be an overall "lifeline" for my team if they had any questions about the event. The goal of the event is to fund-raise money for a cause. Each year that I have participated, I led a different team - and between these 3 teams we fund-raised close to $4,000. I currently have this experience listed as leadership, because it was my only true leadership position. Can I remove the information about the fundraising, and then create another entry under non-medical community service? And if so, do I just split the hours based on time spent fundraising vs time spent leading?

3. Catalystik, you deserve a cake for how active you are in answering our questions. I honestly wish I could bake you something delicious and send it to you! Thanks so much for the help.
 
1. I guess I forgot to list member recruitment - but besides that and the occasional "newbie" coaching there was no real responsibility or leadership being a co-founder. Regarding the most meaningful comment, I'm going to PM you if that is ok. I want to know your opinion but you won't be able to give an accurate one without knowing real details which I'm not going to publicly post.

EDIT: Can't PM you - this makes sense. I'll use my best judgement here, thanks.

2. Going back to listing a leadership component separately - I was not aware that we could do this. Now I have another question. I participated in an annual charity event three times (so 3 years now, next year will be my fourth) in which I was a team captain with real leadership responsibilities. I had to recruit members, attend leader meetings, organize fundraisers, keep my team up to date, and just be an overall "lifeline" for my team if they had any questions about the event. The goal of the event is to fund-raise money for a cause. Each year that I have participated, I led a different team - and between these 3 teams we fund-raised close to $4,000. I currently have this experience listed as leadership, because it was my only true leadership position. Can I remove the information about the fundraising, and then create another entry under non-medical community service? And if so, do I just split the hours based on time spent fundraising vs time spent leading?

3. Catalystik, you deserve a cake for how active you are in answering our questions. I honestly wish I could bake you something delicious and send it to you! Thanks so much for the help.
1) Who schedules practices and venues to compete. Who notifies everyone to come. Who keeps track of rankings? Even if you delegated these tasks, that is a leader's role, especially if you kept oversight of the process as one of your responsibilities.

2) Yes, you can have a Philanthropy related listing and a Team Leader listing (which sounds like it will be strong), so long as you don't double count the hours.

3) I'm a chocolate chip cookie kinda girl. 😉
 
Thanks for your time, Catalystik.

I want to list my non-scholarly books/articles in one slot, but should this be designated under "publications," "work," or "other?" I've already used "publications" before for scholarly work.
 
I want to list my non-scholarly books/articles in one slot, but should this be designated under "publications," "work," or "other?" I've already used "publications" before for scholarly work.
Depending on the purpose of the books and articles, you might use Teaching or Artistic Endeavors. Or, if they are a mixed bag, you could use Other. Or as a last choice, you could use Publications, but title the slot to make it clear it's not related to original research/scholarly investigation, like "Published Fiction" or "Published Commentary on Political Issues" or "Fly-Fishing-Related Publications", or some other catchall phrase that covers the lot. [Especially if you are targeting research-oriented schools, it's probably best not to use Publications, though.]

If you produced these works during Employment, remember not to double count the hours and just enter a 1.
 
Great profile pic change, @Catalystik.

If we abbreviate an organization's name in the organization name box (ex. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)), can we simply use the abbreviation in the work experience and meaningful activity box, without referring to the full name again?
 
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Great profile pic change, @Catalystik.

If we abbreviate an organization's name in the organization name box (ex. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)), can we simply use the abbreviation in the work experience and meaningful activity box, without referring to the full name again?
If you looked carefully at the tiny pic, you'll see that the hat says Camp SDN. It's my summer uniform. 😉

If it's UNESCO, I don't think you have to spell it out at all. The abbreviation has turned into the word for the full organization. For anything else, if your grandmother doesn't know what it means, then use the strategy you've outlined.
 
If you looked carefully at the tiny pic, you'll see that the hat says Camp SDN. It's my summer uniform. 😉

If it's UNESCO, I don't think you have to spell it out at all. The abbreviation has turned into the word for the full organization. For anything else, if your grandmother doesn't know what it means, then use the strategy you've outlined.

Thanks! and B/c we can't italicize undergraduate journal publication names, should we put them in quotes?

Yep, I saw the SDN haha loved it! is that a homemade hat...can we buy it on the SDN store (kidding) ? And is that your cat?
 
Yes to both.

Quote marks take up spaces. Examples of a highly condensed format for listing multiple pub types:

Shortened Title; Shortened Journal/Book; Pubmed ID/Location/Status.

1st Author:
TSUP; BBA; PMID 22192777
Rhodopsin Superfamily; Nature; Accepted
Efflux Proteins: Microbial Efflux Pumps; Horizon Scientific Press; Accepted
Lead and Mercury Transporters (2 articles); Encycl. of Metalloproteins; ISBN 978-1-4614-1532-9 Jan. '13
MFS; FEBS J; PMID 22458847

2nd Author:
PTS; ELS; Search PTS on www.els.net
Transp. Protein Evol.; Protein Families; Accepted

Co-author:
Phylogenetic char.; JMMB; PMID 22286036
APC; JMMB; PMID 22627175
Transposons; Mutagenesis; Accepted
Mer; WASP; Accepted
 
Yes to both.

Quote marks take up spaces. Examples of a highly condensed format for listing multiple pub types:

Shortened Title; Shortened Journal/Book; Pubmed ID/Location/Status.

1st Author:
TSUP; BBA; PMID 22192777
Rhodopsin Superfamily; Nature; Accepted
Efflux Proteins: Microbial Efflux Pumps; Horizon Scientific Press; Accepted
Lead and Mercury Transporters (2 articles); Encycl. of Metalloproteins; ISBN 978-1-4614-1532-9 Jan. '13
MFS; FEBS J; PMID 22458847

2nd Author:
PTS; ELS; Search PTS on www.els.net
Transp. Protein Evol.; Protein Families; Accepted

Co-author:
Phylogenetic char.; JMMB; PMID 22286036
APC; JMMB; PMID 22627175
Transposons; Mutagenesis; Accepted
Mer; WASP; Accepted

awesome thanks. also if we were on staff of multiple undergraduate journals and our positions varied for each (editor, writer, manager etc.) , any suggestions for a good "catch-all" title? I was able to fit each of the journal's name in the organization box, but having trouble coming up with a title to characterize them all.
 
if we were on staff of multiple undergraduate journals and our positions varied for each (editor, writer, manager etc.) , any suggestions for a good "catch-all" title? I was able to fit each of the journal's name in the organization box, but having trouble coming up with a title to characterize them all.
Undergraduate (Science?) Writing Endeavors? I don't know enough about the categories you need to cover. I'm sure with some thought you'll come up with something suitable.
 
How are you guys entering your information? If you were president of pre-medical society, would you put:

Experience name: President of Pre-Medical Society
Organization: [school name]

Or would Pre-Medical Society be the organization name and they just assume it was through your school?

This might have been asked before but I can't seem to find it 🙁
 
If you were president of pre-medical society, would you put:

Experience name: President of Pre-Medical Society
Organization: [school name]

Or would Pre-Medical Society be the organization name and they just assume it was through your school?
Ideally, you wouldn't use the same organization name twice in the same entry. For Organization name , you could use: AED (spelled out, though), Office of Collegiate Affairs (or whatever dept oversees all student organizations), or school name.
 
If we volunteered in a clinic, in which shadowing is a small <20% component (as well as bringing patients back, organizing charts, various office tasks etc as per LizzyM --we could smell the patients) is this grouped under shadowing or clinical/medical volunteering? How would we make it clear that it wasn't just shadowing and that there was patient interaction?
 
If we volunteered in a clinic, in which shadowing is a small <20% component (as well as bringing patients back, organizing charts, various office tasks etc as per LizzyM --we could smell the patients) is this grouped under shadowing or clinical/medical volunteering? How would we make it clear that it wasn't just shadowing and that there was patient interaction?
Since the experience is >50% active clinical experience, list it under Volunteer - Medical/Clinical, but include the words "& Shadowing" in the title. In the narrative, state that 20 % of the time in the clinic you were able to directly observe a physician doing ?.

If this were your only shadowing, I'd give another answer, namely to split out the different components and list them apart, taking care not to double count the hours.
 
I am a co-author of an accepted publication. Aside from citing the paper, what else needs to be included in the description? Do I need to mention which data I contributed, analyzed, etc.? I already have described my research experience regarding this project in detail using another entry.

Thanks!
 
I am a co-author of an accepted publication. Aside from citing the paper, what else needs to be included in the description? Do I need to mention which data I contributed, analyzed, etc.? I already have described my research experience regarding this project in detail using another entry.
There is no need to repeat the same information. The citation alone is sufficient for a Publications space.
 
There is no need to repeat the same information. The citation alone is sufficient for a Publications space.

Great, thanks! Is there a specific format that is preferred when citing? I usually use AMA when citing
 
I just found out that I will be taking on a couple leadership roles at my research job. These roles won't start until after I submit the AMCAS. I have pretty much no leadership experience at the moment, and this role will be a pretty huge boost in that department. I will basically be an interim-project coordinator for two moderately sized clinical trials. I have been a team member on these projects until now (one has been going on for several months and the other is about to launch).

Should I mention this future role change somewhere in my research description? I will most likely start around the beginning of July, so I'll have been doing it for a couple months once interviews begin.
 
I just found out that I will be taking on a couple leadership roles at my research job. These roles won't start until after I submit the AMCAS. I have pretty much no leadership experience at the moment, and this role will be a pretty huge boost in that department. I will basically be an interim-project coordinator for two moderately sized clinical trials. I have been a team member on these projects until now (one has been going on for several months and the other is about to launch).

Should I mention this future role change somewhere in my research description? I will most likely start around the beginning of July, so I'll have been doing it for a couple months once interviews begin.
As you've been picked to take on the leadership roles (similar to an honor or recognition), you could reasonably incorporate a description of your date of onset and future duties in the Research listing. To be sure this isn't missed, you might incorporate it into the Name of the activity, like, "Research Assistant and Interim Project Coordinator-Elect with the Shankar Lab, or somesuch.
 
I am a non-trad who worked full time in a factory while in college. I started as an assembler, was promoted to machine set-up and then was promoted again to machine operator. Should I describe my job duties on each position, job duties in general or because it has nothing to do with medicine I should just mention what I learned from working in a factory? Or should I even describe this experience in any way?
 
1. If I volunteered at 2 different hospitals, doing basically the same tasks, should I list them as 1 or 2 entries? if 1 entry, how do i list the contact person?

2. I had ap roctor job for 1 quarter in which I proctored the midterm and final for total of around 9 hours. Should I even mention this? It's so minimal and useless, except for the pay.

3. I've about 4 honor/awards that I'm putting under 1 category. How do I list the times (if they are awarded in the same time period) and contact info for each?
 
I am a non-trad who worked full time in a factory while in college. I started as an assembler, was promoted to machine set-up and then was promoted again to machine operator. Should I describe my job duties on each position, job duties in general or because it has nothing to do with medicine I should just mention what I learned from working in a factory? Or should I even describe this experience in any way?
Considering the limited space available, I think it would be fine to summarize the jobs you did by saying "I received three promotions, ending as a machine operator", with a brief description, and then a discussion of what you learned, impact, etc. If a typical adult could intuit what you did, detailed description isn't necessary. If the job was highly unusual, providing more information is in order. If a part of the job would translate into skills desirable in a physician, like fine motor skills, dexterity, 3-D visualization, patience, meticulous accuracy, etc, you could highlight that.
 
1. If I volunteered at 2 different hospitals, doing basically the same tasks, should I list them as 1 or 2 entries? if 1 entry, how do i list the contact person?

2. I had ap roctor job for 1 quarter in which I proctored the midterm and final for total of around 9 hours. Should I even mention this? It's so minimal and useless, except for the pay.

3. I've about 4 honor/awards that I'm putting under 1 category. How do I list the times (if they are awarded in the same time period) and contact info for each?
1) If you have the space, it's better to use two spots. If you must condense them, then put the contact info in the narrative for the 2nd hospital and specify the number of hours at each location.

2) It's reasonable to omit a job with 9 hours total.

3) List the date of the first one on your list (typically the most prestigious). The narrative can say "All awards received spring 2014" or somesuch. Use the college Registrar as the contact for all of them.
 
I recently secured a position in a research project at a nearby university. I'll probably be working on it in the lab 3 to 4 hours a day 5 days a week on average starting today, and will be continuing it through the next year up until medical school begins. What should I put for the end date? I'm assuming I'm only allowed to put the amount of hours I'll have by the time I submit my application.
 
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I recently secured a position in a research project at a nearby university. I'll probably be working on it in the lab 3 to 4 hours a day 5 days a week on average starting today, and will be continuing it through the next year up until medical school begins. What should I put for the end date? I'm assuming I'm only allowed to put the amount of hours, I'll have by the time I submit my application.
The latest end date you are allowed to enter is August 2015. While you could lump current and future hours together, I suggest you either 1) enter the Total Hours you'll have by the time you submit and then list the future intended hours in the narrative. 2) Or, alternatively, list the May hours only, then check the Repeated box to enter the second date span from June 2014 to August 2015, and use the 2nd Total Hours line for the rest.
 
1) If you have the space, it's better to use two spots. If you must condense them, then put the contact info in the narrative for the 2nd hospital and specify the number of hours at each location.

2) It's reasonable to omit a job with 9 hours total.

3) List the date of the first one on your list (typically the most prestigious). The narrative can say "All awards received spring 2014" or somesuch. Use the college Registrar as the contact for all of them.

Thanks, Catalystik. For the awards, what if 3 of them aren't from UCSD? I have a student fellowship fro ma conference, a research scholarship from a different place, and another scholarship from somewhere else. These don't show up on my transcript or financial aid.
 
For the awards, what if 3 of them aren't from UCSD? I have a student fellowship fro ma conference, a research scholarship from a different place, and another scholarship from somewhere else. These don't show up on my transcript or financial aid.
Ideally, you have the space to split them out and list contact information in the narrative of the 2nd and 3rd that you list. If you don't know a contact, consider using your advisor or PI, or other person who can attest to them.

If the 3rd scholarship (depending on its purpose) went/will go toward your tuition, the Registrar could still attest to its existence, though perhaps from another database.
 
The latest end date you are allowed to enter is August 2015. While you could lump current and future hours together, I suggest you either 1) enter the Total Hours you'll have by the time you submit and then list the future intended hours in the narrative. 2) Or, alternatively, list the May hours only, then check the Repeated box to enter the second date span from June 2014 to August 2015, and use the 2nd Total Hours line for the rest.
The application won't allow a future date span so you can do that in June but not now. I really do like that idea, though.

The instructions state to include expected hours so I have been putting the expected total in the hours box and explaining what I have currently finished in the narrative.
 
1) The application won't allow a future date span so you can do that in June but not now. I really do like that idea, though.

2) The instructions state to include expected hours so I have been putting the expected total in the hours box and explaining what I have currently finished in the narrative.
1) Yes, you'd have to wait until June 1 to be allowed to enter a June start date of this year.
2) Your solution works fine, also. Even though the application doesn't suggest it, I think that all adcomms appreciate the distinction being made between already-accomplished and anticipated-future hours. We are not used to the all-inclusive extra information, since it's newer, and incorrect assumptions would be easy to make.
 
1) Yes, you'd have to wait until June 1 to be allowed to enter a June start date of this year.
2) Your solution works fine, also. Even though the application doesn't suggest it, I think that all adcomms appreciate the distinction being made between already-accomplished and anticipated-future hours. We are not used to the all-inclusive extra information, since it's newer, and incorrect assumptions would be easy to make.
I definitely want to give an accurate picture of my accomplishments, and I also don't want to appear to be unable to follow instructions. Thanks for the insight. I really appreciate your help on this thread and elsewhere!
 
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